With ESPN and Top Rank Boxing set to part ways after its current agreement expires in August, the promotion is looking towards multiple media partners to fill the void left by the Worldwide Leader.
Speaking with Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum says that the boxing promoter’s plan is to “not rely on one outlet but have, like in other sports, various outlets take [the] product.”
Stern mentions sports streaming platform DAZN as one contender to take some of Top Rank’s inventory as it has become heavily involved in combat sports in recent years.
Arum, who is 93-years old and has been organizing boxing matches for nearly 60 years, said that he’s feeling encouraged about Top Rank’s ongoing negotiations because boxing is “really a giant in hiding in plain sight.”
“The reason for that is because there’s so many different outlets for people, different streaming services that are still over the air, there’s other ways like YouTube to reach consumers, so there is a tremendous demand for product,” he continued. “Now, when you look at the cost of boxing, it is relatively low compared to other sports.”
Per Stern, it is unclear exactly what monetary value Top Rank is placing on its rights, but it’s likely that many media companies would see it as a bargain compared to other, more high-profile combat sports like UFC.
Top Rank has aired across ESPN’s linear networks and ESPN+ since its deal with the network began in 2017. The current agreement has ESPN airing 54 events annually for the promotion, a fair amount of inventory that could easily be split into multiple packages, as Arum has suggested.
No timeline has been reported about when any new deals will be reached or announced.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.